Industry
luminary and father of two, Daniel Blumenthal, died of complications from Alzheimer's Disease at 94
years old last Wednesday in Paramus, New Jersey. He dedicated his life to
his family and philanthropy after retiring in 1998, but Blumenthal's
legacy in the cigar world was impressive.

Before
leaving the industry, Blumenthal was the chairman of Villazon and Co.,
the Honduran company that manufactured the non-Cuban versions of Hoyo de
Monterrey and Punch cigars. He also owned both brands prior to selling
them to General Cigar in 1997.

Like
many, Blumenthal started young, working in his father's retail cigar
stores in New York City when he was only 14 years old. By the 1950s, he
had his own cigar shop in Manhattan and was the sole importer of the
Cuban El Rey del Mundo and Ramon Allones brands as well as a major
purchaser of Cuban tobacco that went into Clear Havana cigars—cigars
made in the United States with Cuban tobacco.

Having
predicted the Cuban embargo, Blumenthal and his business associate, the
late Frank Llaneza, had enough foresight to buy as much Cuban tobacco
as they could find on the market before the embargo took effect. They
purchased shipments of unwanted Cuban tobacco from Garcia y Vega and
Blumenthal continued to blend the Cuban stock into the Honduran-made
Punch and Hoyo de Monterrey brands until the 1970s. (Blumenthal bought
the U.S. rights to the brands in 1965.)

He is survived by his wife, Gloria, and his daughters Germaine Link and Desiree Abboud.

To
learn more about Daniel Blumenthal's contribution to the U.S. cigar
industry, click here for the original Cigar Aficionado interview.